Code rewrite would drop R1-9000 zone and turn planned residential zones into overlays
September 2, 2025, 4:05 p.m. · City Administration Conference Room, 51 E. Main St.
Consultant Cherylyn Egner and Development Services Director Patrick O'Brien walked the council through the land use code rewrite, which consolidates 1980s-era rules into tables, moves setback variances to the Planning Commission, would eliminate the R1-9000 zone, and turns PR planned residential zones into overlays after developers near Harbor Road used them to exceed intended densities. Staff also wants mixed-use projects to build ground-floor commercial before residential.
From the approved minutes.
Decisions at a glance
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Municipal code rewrite (Titles 15 and 17) | Discussed |
Agenda, item by item
Item 1 · City code
Municipal code rewrite (Titles 15 and 17)
Discussed
Egner said much of the code dates to the 1980s with duplicated sections; the rewrite uses permitted-use tables and a separate standards and specifications manual. Discussed: common variance requests to cut side setbacks to 5 feet; eliminating the R1-9000 zone (Taylor called it reasonable); making PR-3.0 an overlay applied only when criteria are met, after PR-3.0 lots near Harbor Road reached 4-5 units per acre; whether a Planned Community zone is still needed; ADUs; downtown maximum setbacks of 10 feet and active frontages. Auto Mall owner Brian Fruit and Mark Minson of M&M Property Holding attended.
- Consultant: Cherylyn Egner